Japanese

Mythology
 Probably about 10,000 b.c. people
whom we now call the Jōmon were
living in Japan.
The name Jˉo mon
(“ropepattern”) comes from a type
of pottery they made.
It looks as if rope was pressed
onto it to make markings, or it was
made by coiling strips of clay.
 A large clay vessel imprinted with the distinctive
rope pattern of the Jōmon period of early Japanese
history.
 By fourth century B.C. a new
culture emerged in Japan.
These people—named Yayoi, after
the place where their homes were
first found by archaeologists.
The archeologists thought that in
those periods, theycame from
China and Korea or persons who
were traded with.
 In Yayoi period, there were called
prominent people. YAMATO CLAN
Yamato leaders extended their
rule over the Japanese islands
through warfare and diplomacy.
To justify their control, the
Yamato rulers associated their clan
with a story about the beginning
of the world that linked them to
the gods who had created it.
 This creation myth, or story about
the creation of the world, became
central to the Shinto religion. Once
writing was introduced in Japan,
those oral traditionswere recorded
in the Kojiki (Book of Ancient Things)
and the Nihongi (Chronicles of
Japan, compiled in the eighth
century).
Japanese Mythology is largely
derived from the state religion
of Shinto. While Buddhism
has overtaken much of Japan,
many people still practice
Shinto, mostly for tradition
rather than actual belief in
the surrounding mythology.
 The early Japanese believed
that the world around them was
inhabited by gods and spirits.
Almost every aspect of Japan's
stunning natural beauty evoked a
sense of awe and wonder among
its people.
Ancient Japanese elevated
this fascination with nature
into what was later called
Shinto, the Way of the
kami.
 Kami

Natural Ujikami
Phenomena (Clan deities)

Stream Ancestral
Mountain
Spirits
 The b i r t h of Japan
In the beginning, there was nothing but a
shapeless egg of swirling gases. Slowly, the
lighter areas rose up to form the heavens, and
the darker, denser material sank to form the
earth. Three gods created themselves, and hid
in heaven. Landmasses floated about on the
surface of the earth until eventually
something appeared drifting between heaven
and earth.
It looked like the first shoot of a new reed and
two gods were born from it, who also hid.
Seven more gods were born in this way, the
Izanagi and Izanami were commanded by the
heavenly deities "to complete and solidify the
drifting land" - in other words to form the
Japanese islands. Standing on the "Floating
Bridge of Heaven," they wondered whether
there was anything below them, and so dipped
the heavenly Jeweled Spear into the sea below
to find out. They stirred the brine with a
churning sound, and when they lifted up the
spear again, the dripping brine from the tip of
the spear piled up and became the island of
Onogoro. Descending from the heavens, Izanagi
and Izanami decided to make their home there,
and stuck the spear into the ground to form
the Heavenly Pillar.
The
Creation
of the Land
 Discovering that their bodies were
differently formed, Izanagi asked his
spouse Izanami if she was agreeable to
giving birth to the land in order to produce
more islands. When she agreed, they
devised a marriage ritual: they walked
around the Heavenly Pillar in opposite
directions; when they met, Izanami said
"How lovely! I have met a handsome man!“
and then they made love. Instead of
producing an island, however, she gave birth
to a deformed leech-child, which they cast
a drift on the sea in a reed boat
. They returned to heaven to consult the
gods who told them that their mistake lay in
the marriage ritual: Izanami should not have
spoken first when they met around the
pillar, as it is not a woman's place to initiate
a conversation. In order to have children,
they repeated the ritual, but this time,
Izanagi spoke first.
On their return to earth, Izanagi and
Izanami tried again and were successful. Over
time, Izanami bore all the islands of Japan.
They produced gods to beautify the
islands, and also made gods of wind, trees,
rivers, and mountains, completing the
creation of Japan.
 The last god produced by Izanami was
the fire god, whose birth scorched her
genitals so badly that she died. However, as
she died, she continued to produce more
gods from her vomit, urine, and excreta.
Izanagi was so angry that he cut off the
fire god's head, but drops of his blood fell
on the earth, producing still more deities.
Izanagi and Izanami

They are
the creator
god and
goddesses.
 Aizen-
Myoo
 God of Love
Worshipped
by prostitutes,
landlords,
singers and
musicians.
Amaterasu

The goddess of
the sun.
Leader of the
Shinto pantheon.
Born from the
left eye of Izanagi.
 Susanoo-no-mikoto
God of the
sea and
storms, as
well as
snakes and
farming.
 TSUKUYOMI-NO-MIKOTO

The moon
god Born
from the
right eye
of Izanagi.
 Benten or
Benzaiten

Goddess of
love, the arts,
wisdom,
poetry, good
fortune and
water.
 Ame-No-Mi-Kumari

Shinto
water
goddess.
Ryo-
Wo
God of the
sea. known
as the
Dragon King
 Hachiman
The god
of war and
the divine
protector of
Japan and its
people.
Uke-
mochi
Goddess of
food who
blesses the
Earth with

abundance.
 Tenji
God of
n
learning,
language and
calligraphy.
He taught
humans
to write.
Fujin

Shinto god of
the wind.
Seen as a
terrifying
dark demon in
a leopard
skin
Abumi-guchi
A furry creature
formed from the
stirrup of a
mounted
military
commander
works for Yama
Orochi
 Abura-
akago

An
infant ghost
who licks the oil
out of andon
lamps.
Akaname

The spirit
who licks
the untidy

bathroom
 Abura-sumashi

A spirit who
lives on a
mountain pass
in Kumamoto
Prefecture
Amabie
A Japanese
mermaid
who
prophesied
either an
abundant
harvest or an
epidemic.
 Baku

An
auspicious
beast who
can devour
nightmares
.
AKASHITA
A red tounge
beast with
hairy clawed
hands and
hairy face,with
most of its
body hidden in
the dark
clouds.
 AME-
“Rain ONNA
woman”
A female
spirit
standing in
the middle of
the rain
while licking
FUTAKUCHI-ONNA
“ two
mouthed
woman”
A woman with
a second
mouth
behind her head
under her
 HONE-
ONNA
“bone woman”
Monster who
kills
men by
grabbing
their hands &
holding them
until the
victim
HYOSUBE
A child-size river
monster.
Lives in
underwater
cave,
ventures
onto land at
night to eat
rice plants.
 KASHA
A humanoid cat-
demon with
the head of a
cat or demon
and with
a burning tail.
They steal
corpses of not
yet buried
and who had
THANK
YOU!!!